


Rank MAX: Chance

by TheArtisticIntrovert



Series: Two of Swords: Journey with Minor Arcana [12]
Category: Persona 5, Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: (mostly chapter 2), Autistic Mutou Yuugi, Heart-to-Heart, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Persona 5 Spoilers, not cutting or anything but some pain stims count as self harm, the yuugis are both hard headed more at 11, things aren't perfect but they're getting there, video chat (but not like your grandma's video chat!), yuugi punches his thigh and pulls his hair that's it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22172110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtisticIntrovert/pseuds/TheArtisticIntrovert
Summary: You can't fix 6 months of terror in an afternoon chat, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
Series: Two of Swords: Journey with Minor Arcana [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1244570
Comments: 3
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> IT LIVES!!! at long last, the final rank is here!!! now i know this may not be a satisfying ending, but it IS an ending. i may add more drabbles in the swords-verse later, but the main ranks are done and if i knew a way to combine them into one story without losing the comments and kudos i would.

It took a bit longer than a week to set up, though Akira was totally ready to blame that on the fact that exams were coming up, plus he had to make the rounds to reassure everyone for the hundredth time that yes, he’s not dead, no he’s not arrested anymore, and yes, that was him on the television calling out Shido. Add in the fact Akechi was MIA, presumed dead after the battle on Shido’s ship. Granted, it was very likely he actually  _ was  _ dead, but....Akira couldn’t help but hope. Not to mention the whole “fought a literal false god” bullshit, but he’d rather NOT think about that, thanks.

Still, he’d managed to set up a time with both Mutous, so now they were sitting in his attic room, a video camera set up at Akira’s elbow and facing Mutou. Today, they weren’t wearing the punk fashions of Mutou, nor the more grunge clothing of Spirit, but sort of a mix of both. They were in a soft-looking black sweater with little bats on it, slightly ripped jeans, and black sneakers with their hair ungelled but tied back, and glasses. Right now it was Mutou, though it was strange to see his eyes brown rather than purple, somehow.

“Are you ready?” Akira asked. Mutou nodded, fiddling anxiously with the chain on the puzzle around his neck. Akira turned the camera on, gesturing for Mutou to go ahead. He looked conflicted for a second before visibly steeling himself, looking up into the camera lens.

“Hello, Other Me.”

\--

_ “—and I guess I just wanted a friend, so I never said anything. You scare me, y’know? People keep disappearing, and I don’t know where I am when that happens. The police are asking about me, did you know that? They think I’m killing people. They talked to Grandpa the other day, he didn’t say anything I don’t think, but.....you’re scaring my family too. I.....I never wanted to be  _ **_feared!”_ **

Spirit stared blankly at the tiny LCD screen, watching his-not his face contort in agony. Yuugi was nearly crying on screen, looking desperate and cornered. Vaguely, he remembered the early days, whispers of memory sneaking back into his mind.

_ “Yuugi, are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been acting…strange, lately.” _

_ “Maybe you should lay off the midnight coffee, Grandpa. I think it’s getting to you!” _

_ “G-Get away from me! I didn’t do anything to you this time, so stay away from me!”  _

He chewed his lip harshly, glaring down at the screen. It didn’t take a genius to see Yuugi was hurting. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to comfort the other, despite feeling the drying remnants of tears on his cheeks. He had all the empathy of a rusty teaspoon, and still felt he was justified in what he’d done. Granted, there might’ve been a better way about it, that was true. Still, just sitting here wasn’t helping anything.

He took a deep breath, replaced the camera on the tripod next to Kurusu, and began.

“I never meant to hurt you...”

\--

There’s a bit of a difference between knowing you’re possessed and  _ seeing  _ it. For the first time, Yuugi finally understood why everyone he’s met thought he had some sort of split personality. He watched with mounting horror as the red eyes in his face narrowed (in contempt? Disgust?) and a barely there sneer graced his lips. Even his posture changed, straightening like someone had taped a plank to his spine rather than the comfortable hunch he’d developed over years of gaming. It was easy to see the differences between them, and it was no wonder his mom had noticed immediately that something was off, even if she couldn’t put words to it at first.

The words of the spirit didn’t help his unease. Excuses, platitudes, insistence that he needed ‘protecting’ like the spirit wasn’t the cause of 90% of his problems in the first place. Granted he’d been getting bullied before, that hasn't changed, but now people were  _ afraid _ of him. Plus, the rougher of the delinquents at his school wanted to ‘test’ themselves against him, like he was some sort of measuring stick. It was ridiculous, and often meant he was just a walking bruise. Without his permission, a white-hot flash of anger gripped him, and he had to set the camera down before he snapped it in his anger. Kurusu eyed him impassively, head tilted just slightly as he waited for Yuugi to speak. Finally, he managed to unclench his nails from his palms, chucking his glasses on the table and rubbing his eyes harshly. He hated feeling like this, like a meltdown was just one wrong breath away, but he couldn’t help it.

The condescension, the pity, the  _ assumptions,  _ they just made him so  _ angry.  _ He harshly slammed his fist down on his thighs, the repetitive drumming soothing him slightly. His other hand found its way to his hair as he tugged it roughly, the duel sensations of pain calming him enough he could actually look at Kurusu again. He seemed alarmed, but not as much as Yuugi would’ve expected. Wordlessly, he nodded towards the camera, a questioning look on his face. (Were it any other time, Yuugi would’ve mentioned how he appreciated the silence. Not many people realized them talking made it worse.)

He took a deep breath, managing to extract his hand from his hair long enough he could put the camera back. He nodded at Kurusu, who hit record and just waited. Yuugi took another deep breath, shaking off the last bits of the buzzing rage like they were just irritating mosquitoes, leaving only an undercurrent behind. Voice clipped and tightly controlled, he prepared to tear the spirit a new one.

“I don’t need  _ protecting.  _ I’m not  _ weak,  _ I’m not  _ fragile,  _ and choosing to be a pacifist doesn’t make me naive! I was doing  _ fine  _ before you showed up. Did I have friends? Yes! I had Anzu, but I was selfish and wanted more. I didn’t appreciate her as much as I should’ve, and though I’m grateful for Jounouchi-kun, Honda-kun, and Ryou-kun, I was  _ fine  _ without them. I don’t know if you see me as stupid, or if you think I can’t handle myself because I choose to solve my problems without violence, but I’m not a  _ child,  _ dammit!

“All my life I’ve been looked down on for being small, or weak, or  _ retarded,” _ he spat out the last word like it was poison, before continuing, “so I’m well used to people assuming I can’t handle myself. I don’t know why I expected you to be  _ different,  _ but guess that’s on me for assuming.” He lapsed into silence for a second, so angry that he choked himself off, unable to continue. He had to take a second to calm down again before he could speak again, shaking his head. “This is ridiculous, what am I even doing? You’ll never change, even if I wish you would. Just like everyone else, you’ll never see me as someone capable...”

He lapsed into silence again, before being startled out of it by Kurusu’s voice. “Mutou, sorry to interrupt, but....can I add something?” he asked softly. Yuugi blinked at him, nonplussed, before nodding hesitantly. “Spirit didn’t say this in his video, but I do have proof of it. He told me he wanted to protect you, in part to  _ repay  _ you. He claims you gave him life, and the only thing he knew after becoming aware was your hurts and his anger.” He adjusted his glasses, looking at Yuugi intensely. “I agree he could’ve been going about it better, and I know how frustrating it is when people treat you like a child, but....I just wanted to add that, as context, sort of.”

He spoke like he had experience. Yuugi blinked at him, only dimly aware of the camera still rolling. In the back of his mind, he swore he could hear a whisper. He sighed explosively, rubbing his face with his hands and wincing only slightly when they caught one of his piercings. “I’ll believe you....You’ve never lied to me before, so I’ll believe you.” He peered out from behind his fingers, too exhausted to bother removing them. “I’ll......I’ll give him a chance, so thank you for helping. I guess....I just need a moment. Still, I really do appreciate all your help.” He sighed, giving Kurusu a wry grin. “Guess you have a lot of time on your hands, since taking down the Prime Minister.”

Kurusu looked taken aback, finally showing an emotion other than placid calm. “H-How did you—?!” he gasped, ears coloring. Yuugi snorted, which turned into a full laugh.

“Like I said, I’m not stupid. I figured something was up when you started hanging out with me at first, especially since I didn’t know you. I saw the Phansite, and I saw Himura-kun’s post on it, dated just before you started talking to me. Then, you go to juvie right when the leader of the Phantom Thieves goes into custody, not to mention being a massive ‘fanboy’.....it wasn’t hard to put together, once I had all the pieces,” he said, listing them off on his fingers. “For a Phantom Thief, you’re not that good at staying under the radar, at least not to people who know you.” He laughed, but took pity on Kurusu after seeing his panicked, guilty expression. “Relax, Kurusu-kun. I never had a sudden ‘change of heart’, so I know that whatever magic you do, you didn’t do to me. I don’t believe you killed Okumura either, and I know that even if you first became my friend to, I dunno, take me out somehow, you still  _ didn’t.”  _ He sighed, spinning one of his rings around absently. “I like to believe we were real friends; that even if we met out of obligation on your end and chance on mine, we became.....real friends. Besides, you’ve kind of already been outed as a Phantom Thief,” he pointed out.

Kurusu’s blush spread from his ears to his cheeks as he came to the same conclusion, burying his face in his hands. “You.....have a point,” he muttered, resisting the urge to bang his head against the table. “Still, I do appreciate it. And....for what it’s worth, I think we’re real friends too, Mutou,” he offered.

“Call me Yuugi, Kurusu-kun. I’ve bared my soul to you like four times now, I think you’ve earned that much.”

“Then, you can call me Akira. All my confidants do.”

**_Swords: Rank MAX! [Mutou’s Shadow] removed from Mementos._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [dabs loudly in your general direction] did i do good? did i do bad? let me know! i live off comments
> 
> also about the ending, the reason i don't plan on having them reconcile in this series is that swords and the ygo realistic au i have are technically the same universe, and i plan on writing both a duelist kingdom and battle city arc for the rau and i didn't want spoilers in here.


	2. Rank 10: Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the Thieves have to actually fight in Mementos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote the original version of this before weatching p5r and learning abotu the new mementos functionality, as it's like 50 episodes in and we only just now went to mementos, so this is a new chapter detailing how the fight might've gone. you can choose to acknowledge this ending, or continue with the assumption that they didn't have to fight.
> 
> also due to timeline fuckery, assume morgana didn't die and that the metaverse still exists, along with igor allowing everyone to keep the nav

Akira thought that maybe, just talking to the Yuugis was enough to get rid of the Shadow. Unfortunately, after checking the Nav on a whim, it turned out that wasn’t exactly the case. He supposed it was just luck that Igor (the real one) and Lavenza had allowed the Thieves to keep the Nav. The Metaverse still existed, even if Yaldabaoth was no longer controlling it. The point is, he was scrolling through the Nav for nostalgia’s sake and noticed that instead of being crossed off like the other Palaces and Mementos targets, Yuugi’s Shadow was still active. He sat up, accidentally dumping Morgana from where he was sitting on his chest, and hurriedly opened the chat client.

**_Joker [12:27 PM]_ **

**_Guys, we have a problem. Remember Yuugi, the guy we couldn’t beat in Mementos?_ **

**_Skull [12:29 PM]_ **

**_yea, so? you took care of it, right?_ **

**_Queen [12:30 PM]_ **

**_What brought this on so suddenly?_ **

**_Joker [12:32 PM]_ **

**_I was looking through the Nav tonight for nostalgia's sake, and I noticed that even though every other request and Palace we had was gone, Yuugi’s was still there. I thought that I’d taken care of it, but apparently not well enough. He doesn’t seem unstable, but then again he didn’t seem like that when I first met him either. And don’t you remember the news? They found another body, a high school gym teacher in Domino. It was....pretty gruesome. RedVictory, the guy who left the request back in September, said Yuugi was killing people._ **

**_Skull [12:34 PM]_ **

**_for real?! we gotta stop him then, right????_ **

**_Panther [12:34 PM]_ **

**_Hey, cool it! Remember how hard it was last time with that freaky inugami pair?_ **

**_Oracle [12:35 PM]_ **

**_we should prob check it out tho, just in case ya know?_ **

**_Queen [12:35 PM]_ **

**_That’s true, but are we going to be able to meet up on such short notice? I’m willing to take a break from studying, but is everyone else okay?_ **

**_Fox [12:36 PM]_ **

**_I for one do not have plans today, and if I’m being honest, a break might do me good. I’m alright to meet up today._ **

**_Noir [12:36 PM]_ **

**_Me too! I had a meeting today, but it’s already over with. I was just eating lunch with Nakano-san and Sasaki-san, but I can finish up quickly if we’re meeting today._ **

**_Panther [12:37 PM]_ **

**_Just checked my calendar, I don’t have any shoots today and my call with Shiho isn’t until tomorrow. I’m free!_ **

**_Oracle [12:37 PM]_ **

**_i’m a neet i’m always free www_ **

**_Skull [12:38 PM]_ **

**_just checked with ma, i’m good! usual spot, right?_ **

**_Joker [12:39 PM]_ **

**_Yeah, the sooner the better. We’ll be waiting._ **

* * *

  
  


The creepy singing wasn’t there this time, thankfully, but the tense silence wasn’t much better. Mementos seemed lighter now, now that Yaldabaoth’s Holy Grail was gone, but it was still a creepy flesh pit. They made it to Yuugi’s area with little opposition, plowing through the weak shadows with ease. The Monabus jumped through the portal, twisting and changing into Mona’s new catboy form once they were all out on the other side. They stepped forward, once again met by Yuugi’s Shadow rising from the gloom.

This time, instead of his face tearing itself apart, he looked.....normal. Still short, still with wild hair, and still crying, but he was glaring at them through his tears. Next to and slightly behind him stood another shadowed figure, this one a clone of Yuugi’s silhouette with solid yellow eyes. On its forehead sat a third eye, comically oversized and glowing softly. The second figure didn’t have any features other than that, completely cloaked in darkness. As they approached, Yuugi turned to look at them.

_“So, you’re back? Gonna beat me up some more? Shouldn’t have expected anything else, huh? You learn all my secrets, all my fears, and you still betray me! What more do you want from me?! I told you_ **_everything!”_ **it shrieked, tearing at its hair harshly. Joker winced, remembering Yuugi’s breakdown from the other day. This looked much the same, but it didn’t seem to be calming down any. In fact, it was much the opposite. The shadowed figure behind it stepped forward menacingly, eyes narrowing into a slitted glare. 

Yuugi stiffened, eyes melting into that solid yellow as it glared even harder at the Thieves, lips curling into a feral snarl. **_“I never should have trusted you! I’m just trying to protect myself!”_ ** it growled, before exploding into the two inugami again. This time, however, instead of being almost fused together, they were separated. Thankfully, they knew how to deal with them, and wasted no time in attacking.

Mona’s Garu made short work of them, and they quickly performed an all out attack. It took a couple of hits, but finally the pair were twined together and whimpering. _“Please, no more!_ **_Cut it out!”_ ** they wailed. Joker held up a hand, stepping forward. He’d seen this before from a few Mementos missions, and figured it’d work the same here. _“I don’t understand! Why do you hate me?”_ the left one sniffled. _“I just wanted someone to be my friend!_ **_I just wanted to be safe!”_ ** it said, the right one interjecting its opinion. 

“I don’t hate you,” Joker said softly, crouching down to be on their level. The right inugami barked out a sharp laugh, one that sounded more painful than joyful.

**_“You got a funny way of showing it!_ ** _Are you just trying to show me how to be a man?”_ they said, peering at Joker suspiciously. He frowned internally, making a note of that to ask the real Yuugi later. Outwardly, he shook his head.

“You’re hurting people,” he said instead. They scoffed, curling tighter together.

_“They hurt me first!”_ the left one argued. **_“I’m trying to protect us!”_ **added the right one. They glared at him, huffing softly. Joker rolled his eyes, glaring right back.

“If you keep this up, you won’t have anyone left. They’ll all either be afraid of you, hurt you, or dead,” he said bluntly. They reeled back, and he pressed the advantage. “All you’re doing is driving away the people who care about you. It’s already happening, isn’t it? Mazaki, she hasn’t talked to you recently. Bakura is in just as bad a place as you are. Jounouchi doesn’t know how to help you, and Honda is more Jounouchi’s friend right now, isn’t he? You’re driving them away, and soon it’ll be too late. You need to change _now,_ or you won’t have anyone left,” he added. The left inugami teared up again, but at least they looked as if they were considering his words. Suddenly, the shadow-goop enveloped them again and Yuugi was sitting on the ground, hugging his knees. The shadow sat next to him, third eye gone and glow softened.

_“I didn’t realize how much I was hurting everyone....I was so focused on having friends that.......that I wanted them to stay with me. I finally had friends after solving the Puzzle, and I wanted to keep them so badly.....so I tried to be the person they wanted me to be._ **_I just wanted to protect him. I wanted to thank him, for saving me....I just ended up being another person to hurt him, huh?”_ ** Yuugi laughed bitterly, wiping away his tears. _“I’ll try to be more honest...._ **_and I’ll chill out. Thank_ ** _you, for_ **_caring when_ ** _nobody else_ **_would,”_ **they said, voices overlapping as they vanished in a swirl of light, leaving behind their Treasure. It was a simple scrap of paper, with a large smiling face drawn on it with thick, black marker, and torn into four pieces before being messily taped together again. Joker took it gently, before standing up and returning to his team. 

“It’s over,” he said softly, nodding as they all headed out. Now, they could finally rest easy. Things weren’t perfect yet, but they were definitely on their way to being better.


End file.
